DVD
Format: Full Screen
Running Time: 53 minutes
Not Rated
2019
The mortal ferocity of the four-day battle for control of the small stone bridge over the Merderet River at La Fiere in Normandy is testament to the bridge's strategic importance in the D-Day invasion of June 1944. Without control of the bridge, and its vital causeway, American forces coming from Utah Beach would not have been able to force their way inland.
Fought largely by paratroopers and glidermen from the 82nd Airborne Division, the battle to secure the bridge at La Fiere is described as "probably the bloodiest small unit struggle in the experience of American arms." Victory at La Fiere cost more than 250 American lives, and yet the fateful engagement's story is largely untold.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, the WWII Media and Education Center at The National WWII Museum has teamed with Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) to produce a new documentary, Seize & Secure: The Battle for La Fiere, narrated by Mark Harmon. Capturing the La Fiere story for the first time in documentary form, the production will call on military historian Colonel Kevin W. Farrell, PhD, and Museum Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian Robert M. Citino, PhD, as on-camera analysts. The film will also draw on historic and contemporary images and footage of the battle scene, as well as eyewitness accounts by WWII veterans who fought there.
"Beyond the operational role that La Fiere played in terms of keeping the (invasion) timetable on schedule, there's another reason to study the Battle of La Fiere Bridge, and that's valor," Citino said. "This isn't just a great moment in the history of the US Army, it's a moment, I think, that should make all Americans proud. La Fiere is a battle for the ages, and I'm glad to finally see it getting the attention it deserves."
